Be Productive With Your Time

For many entrepreneurs, being constantly under pressure, over scheduled and struggling to meet basic needs around nutrition, exercise and rest is just part of the game. They see the long hours they are putting in as a necessary form of sweat equity and labor towards creating the life they aspire to.

Busy is the new normal and a security blanket for those who have not yet sharpened their focus. It feels safe and secure to be doing something, anything… Instead of leaning into the tougher challenges and trying to truly create truly innovative solutions. Simply plugging away, moving from task to task chipping a little away here a little away there, feels productive.. but is it really?

Are you filling your day with mindless busy work while neglecting the tougher questions you really need to face?

Are you constantly putting off for tomorrow what you could accomplish today?

If you have been following the Millionaire Mentor regularly, you will be aware that while I am an advocate of putting in hard work to get ahead, these days I have learned the value of working smarter, not harder to reach my goals.

I know how to structure my time and energy so I am not spinning my wheels and placing my attention on things which are not strategically relevant to my short, medium and long term goals.

Working Smarter or Harder?

This where a very important lesson for entrepreneurs about the personality trait known as laziness comes into play. You see, many entrepreneurs incorrectly believe that by constantly staring down the barrel of a gun in a constant effort to be productive that they are hedging odds in their favor.

Yes, productivity is great but the question you need to ask yourself when it comes to how you spend your time should not be “Am I doing anything?” but instead should be “Am I doing the RIGHT things?”

Though it may seem counter intuitive, the fact remains that being mindlessly busy is not at all the same as filling your time with the choices and activities that you need to accomplish to get ahead. There are always going to be things that are easier or harder to accomplish when it comes to business, relationships and just about every area of our lives.

Most of us, myself included, tend to shy away from these bigger questions and tougher challenges. We put them off and instead work on things that are easier to chew on and more manageable. We choose to work on what we think we can accomplish so as to avoid confronting the things we need to accomplish.

Embrace Laziness as a Catalyst for Change

In this sense, laziness is not such a dirty word. It is actually a catalyst which can fuel innovation and transformation. Consider the following quote by American author Robert Heinlein: “Progress isn’t made by early risers. It’s made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.”

It’s not that sitting around and watching television is going to get you where you want to go but at the same time, if you are grinding day in day out, in a constant state of panic, fear and worry, busy but unfocused and undisciplined with your efforts, you may be wasting more time and energy then you realize.

While you were sitting and watching TV, you may have actually been processing vital information that was necessary to reaching the breakthrough you needed to be successful. And while you were running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, you may have simply been contributing to negative health outcomes and delusions of productivity.

You Have the Power: USE IT!

Laziness may be a silent killer and destroyer of dreams but before you seek to extinguish “laziness” from your life, you may want to take a good hard look at how you are spending your time and where you are placing value.

Busy work is what elementary school kids engage with to keep their minds occupied. Bare in mind that being engaged with an “activity” is not the same as being “productive”.

If you don’t have the time or energy to accomplish everything you aspire towards, maybe your priorities are not aligned with your choices, efforts and actions. You have the power to achieve greatness each and every day, the question is, will you use that power?

Time management is a critical element of success. If you are wasting your time, well maybe that’s lazy but if you are simply burning through it in a mad dash without focusing your attentions, that may be just as lazy. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that being active is the same as being productive.

You have all the time, power and energy to accomplish everything you desire.

Instead of wasting these vital resources, harness them. Use your power and the resources at your disposal in an intentional and strategic way. Make your actions count and your choices matter!

Jason Stone is widely known by celebrities and almost 2 million people around the world as @Millionaire_Mentor on Instagram. Stone has successfully launched multiple 6 and 7 figure Instagram and Internet platforms and is becoming a well known social media influencer and marketer.

Known for his e-commerce success in the automotive industry in his early years with Treadstone Performance Engineering, Inc., Jason is a mechanical engineer, real estate investor, car enthusiast, and startup investor. Jason has Co-founded the Impact Billions Movement and also created Gentlemen’s Mafia Instagram network which culminates relationships and success among the thousands of its members worldwide and utilizes his experience and passion as a motivator, mentor, teacher, and social media influencer to help others create success.